Friday, April 6, 2012

Good Friday

Good Friday
by Gideon Burton

When I forget--this settled peace, erased;
this stillness-fullness broken, emptied, pale,
the numbing noise of business in its place;
this freshness forced to something sick and stale;
my piece of peace a sharpened, cutting shard;
my wholeness raked with ragged ripping holes,
and everything once easy, cold and hard;
this world off-rhythmed, wobbling on its poles--
then come, Redeemer, come unpawn, untie,
undo, bind up, relieve, remind my timid eyes
to look again, to watch, to wait, to try
this trial, wrench from it the brighter prize,
and let you fight for me on bloody knees,
where praying shakes the silent olive trees.

Gideon, I just stumbled upon your blog and I love it! I absolutely adore sonnets, and you are masterful at writing them. Keep up the amazing work - I will definitely be frequenting your site! Thanks for sharing your talent.

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Kristen, it usually takes me about a half hour to write a sonnet, but I often draft it and then come back after a few hours or a day. I usually write them out longhand in a Moleskin notebook first. Becky, nice to have a follower. Thanks!